Apparatus for applying covers to containers



sePt- 5, 1933- J. E. sToLl.

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING COVERS TO CONTAINERS Filed June 11, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l` ATTORNEY.

sept. s, 1933.

APPARATUS J. E. s'roLL 1,925,117

FOR'APPLYING COVERS TO CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1l, 1931 10a i c ATTORNEY.

Sept- 5, 1933- J. E. sToLL APPARATUS FOR APPLYIN COVERS TO CONTAINERS 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June l1 INVENToR.

2A/ 1 HT/m,

Patented Sept. 5, 1933 UNITED sm'rss l raam.:

APPARATUS FOR VAPPLYING COVERS TO CONTAINERS Julius E. Stoll, Milwaukee, Wis.,

assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Premier-Pabst Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application June 11, 1931.A Serial No. 543,617'

6 Claims. (Cl. 226-80) The invention relates to packaging apparatus.

The main object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for use with containers whose covers and body are formed of iibre or paper whereb y the package bodies usually with the contents therein are conveyed to the apparatus and the covers are automatically applied thereto and the covered package delivered from the machine. Among the particular features of the invention is the arrangement and association of means whereby the body 0I the container and the cover are accurately centered so that the cover which has a relatively deep cover flange is positioned over the container and then moved down over the same.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is an end elevation. view of the apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a iront elevation parts being broken away;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

View of the apparatus,

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional viewrtaken on the,

line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 9 designates the frame of the machine, 10 a drive shaft connected through speed reducing gearing in the gear case 11 to a shaft 12 carrying a bevel gear 13 meshing with a bevel gear 14 which is thus continuously driven.

suitably supported in the frame 9 are transversely disposed shafts 15 and 16 carrying pulleys 17 and 18 respectively over which run the endless feed belts 1Q and 2), the belt 19 cooperating withv guides 21 to carry the package bodies F into the apparatus and the belt 20 cooperating with the delivery guides 22 to carry the covered packages away from the machine.

A gravity feed chute 23 comprising a channel shaped trough 24 and a top retainer strip 25 supported from said trough by straps 26 conveys the covers C to the apparatus.

Referring to Figs. 4 to 6, the shaft 27 is the main drive shaft for the various parts of the apparatus and is adapted to be connected to the gear 14 by a pawl and ratchet clutch. lThis clutch includes a ratchet wheelV 28 xed to the gear 14, and a pivoted pawl 29 whose pivot 30 Ais carried or mounted in a disk 3lA keyed to the shaft 27, said pawl being normally urged into engage-A ment with saidY ratchet wheel by a spring 32 on said disk. A stationary cam disk 23 is secured below and to a xedrbearing bushing 34 for the shaft 27 and is adapted to have its periphery engage the rounded head 35 of a pin depending from Ythespring pressed end of thel pawl .and to prevent the pawl from becoming released from the ratchet until the head 35'registers with a notch 36 in the cam thus permitting the clutch'. to be thrown out after one revolution of the shaft 27. The clutch is thrown out by the movement of thehead 35 into the notchV 36 throughthe engagement oi said head, as it turns with said disk 31, by a nger or top member 37on an oscillatory shaft 38 whose movement is controlled by the feeding in of package bodies into the machine.

The shaft 33, as shown 'in Figs. 1 and 4, has a slotted crank arm 39 mounted thereon, and a drive pin 40 adjustably clamped in a slot 41 of an oscillatory control lever 42 engages in the slot 43 or" the arm39 so that when the lever 42 swings about its pivot 44, the shaft` 38 also swings so as to Ybring the nger37 either into the full line position shownin Fig. 6 to cause the pawl to be released from the ratchet wheel or to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 6 out of operative relationrwith said pawl to permit the pawl to engage said wheel. The upper end 45 `of the lever 42 is bent inwardly over the belt 19 and has a stop plate 46 projecting toward the incoming package bodies as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and in the path of said .bodies as they are carried inwardly by thebelt 19 ,so that as a body P moves to a position to be acted upon it engages the plate 46 and` thus swings the lever 42 toward the left against the action oi a light return spring'42 as viewed in Fig. 1, thereby releasing the finger 37 from engagement with the pawl 29 and permitting the spring32 to move the pawl into engagement with the ratchet wheel 27 to cause it to be rotated from the constantly rotating gear 14, a bearing 47 being interposed between said gear and the shaft 27 asshown in Fig. 6.

At the time the package body has been moved into theposition A to start the operation of the machine a cover for said body has been delivered by the chute 23 to a shelf or plate 48 above said body and the next operation involves the simultaneous feeding of the package body and its cover to the centering means and gripping means hereinafter described.

, with the plungers.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, this feeding of the body and the cover is accomplished by pushers or plungers 49 and 50 respectively which are connected together to move as a unit with bars 51, slidably mounted in a block 51 and an angled frame 52 anda central bar or rod 53 pivoted at 53 and carrying a Apivot pin 54 connected to the forked upper end of a feed lever 55 pivotally mounted on the frame of the machine at 56 and carrying a roller 57 working on a cam 58 on the shaft 27 and held in engagement therewith by springs 59. The plunger head 49 carries an angled stop plate 60 which as said plunger moves inwardly to push a package body off the belt 19 prevents the movement of the next package body into an interfering position. Similarly the upper plunger head carries a stop plate 61 which as said plunger moves inwardly to push a cover off the shelf or plate 48 prevents the next cover in the chute from moving into an interfering position.

When the cover C is moved inwardly, the plunger 50 under the action of the lever 55 and K its flange moves in between a pair of cover centering jaws or members 62, see Figs. 2 and 3. Each of these members 62 is pivotally mounted on a pin 68 and both are connected together by a tension spring 64 to move inwardly, their movement being limited by angled extensions 65 carrying adjustable stop screws 66 engageabie with the stop portions 67 of the plate 48. Each jaw is recessed as at 68 in a curve to take the beaded edge 69 of the cover C first just before `said cover is placed on the package, so that the cover is rmly held in a central position before it is pushed down over the upperpart of the package.

As the plunger 49 pushes the body inwardly,

y,it is guided to a central position between two upstanding stops 70 on the table 71 and is prevented from moving beyond a central position by a back stop 72 which has been moved to its stop position through an operating connection This stop 72 is in the form of a lever loosely pivoted on a shaft 82 and connected by a link 74 to an arm 75 secured to the plunger frame member 52, said link having a lost motion connection with said arm through the slot 76 on said link engaged by a pin 77 onV said member whereby on the first part of the inward movement of the plungers 49 and 50 the pin 77 runs freely in said slot and thereafter engages the inner end of said slot and moves said link so as to throw the lever 72V to bring its inner i end 78 into stop position, a spring 78' acting on said lever and link to return the same, said lever being limited in its return movement by a stop pin 72. Y

We now have the container and its cover moved to the position shown in Fig. 3 and ready for the placement of the cover on the container by the downward movement of a plunger 79 which is progressively moved downwardly by mecha- .nism hereinafter described.

The plunger 79 is mounted on an arm 8O whose inner end fits over the threaded end 81 of a vertically reciprocatory shaft or rod 82 to which it is removably clamped by a cap nut 83 provided with Ya handle 84, see Fig. 4. The shaft 82 also has an arm 85 adjustably clamped thereto as by a set screw 86 and carrying a roller 87 held against a cam 88 on the shaft 27 by a spring 89 connected to the arm and a fixed part of the machine. The

outer end 90 of the arm 85 is preferably forked to slidably embrace the shaft 27 so as to hold said arm in proper alinement with the cam. The rst movement or" the shaft 82 downwardly under the control of the cam 88 causes the plunger 79 to push the cover C partly through the jaws 62 so as to bring the bead 69 of the cover into registry with the groove 68 of the jaws. The next movement of said shaft causes the plunger 79 to push the cover C out of the jaws and start it down over the upper edge 91 of the container body and the iinal movement of the plunger 79 pushes the cover C to its iinal position down over the package. These different steps or progressive downward movements of the plunger are effected by the drops 92, 93 and 94 of the cam 88.

While the cover is being applied, it is desirable to hold the package body P firmly in position and also to assist in guiding the cover into place and for this purpose a pair of centering and clamping members `95 and 96 are provided associated with means for reciprocating the same into and out of operative position. These members 95 and 96 have fiat plate portions 97 and 98 slidably mounted on the table 71 and 4guided by the ways 99. rifne plate portion 97 for the member 95 has a depending pin 199 connected thereto and working in a slot 101 and connected at lower end to a slide bar 102 which isslotted at 108 and 104 to clear the shafts 82 and 27 and also be guided in Va straight path thereby and which bar carries a roller 105 working in a cam groove 169 in a disk 107 keyed to the shaft 27. A similar cam groove 108 has a roller 109 working therein carried by a slide bar 110 having a guide slot 111 and carrying a pin 112 which is connected to a block 113 that has a slidably releasable connection with the plate portion 98 or the member 96 so as to protect these ciamping members and their drive connections against breakage should anything become wedged in between these members that would prevent their regular movement. For this releasable connection a plate 114, having a hooked end 115 loosely held in a recess 116 in the portion 98 by an angled retainer 117, has a V-groove 118 formed therein adjacent itsouter end which is releasably held against an inverted V-shaped projection 119 by springs 120 mounted on rods 121 between said plate 114 and tension adjusting nuts 22, said plate being loosely mounted in said rods 121 which are secured to the plate portion 98.

With this construction the block 113 is normally connected to move with the member 96 so that as the disk 107 revolves, the cam portions 196 and 108 acting on the rollers 105 and 199 act to move the bars 102 and 110 in and out in proper timed relation to bring the members 95 and 96 into clamping relation with the mid section of the package just after the first movement of the plunger 79 and during the time the plunger 79 is moving down to apply the cover. The releasable connection above described is automatically reset on the outstroke of the plate portion 98 by the limiting of the movement of this plate portion through a stop screw 123 adjustably mounted in a bracket 124 secured to the frame of the machine. It is to be noted that the faces of the jaw members 95 and 96 as shown in Fig. 3 are of stepped formation so as to conform to the stepped formationof the package body and so that the annular portions 125 and 126 will just provide the necessary clearance to allow the cover C to move down over the upper portion of the package and thus will tend to center the cover C as it is pressed down by the plunger 79 into its final position on the package.

During the attaching of the cover, the package recessed to engage the bead of the P rests on a plate 127 on the table 71 and after the cover is applied, the next package body pushes the covered package ahead of it so that it is moved inwardly onto the delivery belt 20 by which the packages are carried away from the machine, it being understood that the belts 19 and 20 are driven continuously by connection of one of their pulley shafts with any suitable source of power.

As previously noted, the type of packages or containers which this machine is particularly designed to handle are those packages in which the body and cover are formed of pressed pulp or paper or bre in the form of laminated tubing built up into the nished form.

The packages to be covered are generally filled with their contents before coming to the machine but the machine will also handle and is sometimes used to apply covers to empty packages used for display purposes.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. In a machine of the character described, the combination of means for presenting a package and the cover to be applied thereto in superposed relation; means for simultaneously feeding the package and the cover to a cover-receiving position; means for centering the cover above the package when in cover-receiving position includinU a pair of releasable clamping members engageable with the cover; a reciprocatory plunger for moving the cover downwardly to its applied position; means for imparting successive downward movements to the plunger to rst move the cover relative to said clamping members, then start the cover over the package and thereafter move the cover to its iinal position on the package, and means for gripping the package during the time the cover is being applied.

2. In a machine of the character described for applying covers having beaded edges to the container bodies, the combination of means for feeding the container body and a cover superimposed above the same to a centralized cover receiving position, a pair of yeildable members for receiving and engaging the cover to hold it in said centralized position, said members being cover, a plunger engageable with the cover to rst move the cover so that its bead engages in the recesses of Y said members and thereafter move the cover over the open top portion of the container to apply the same thereto, and means for gripping the container during the time the cover is applied thereto, said means having parts aiding in centering the cover as same is applied to said package.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of cover holding and centering members, means for yieldingly moving said members toward each other, said members being openable to receive the cover on the movement of the cover between said members, means for moving the cover for engagement by said members, means for presenting a package beneath the cover in a centralized position relative thereto, a pair of reciprocatory clamping and centering members movable into engagement with the package body,'and means for releasing the cover from said cover holding members and moving the same down over the open end of the package to cover the same.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of cover holding and centering members, means for yieldingly moving said members toward each other, said members being openable to receive the cover on the movement of the cover between said members, means for moving the cover for engagement by said members, means for presenting a package beneath the cover in a centralized position relative thereto, a pair of reciprocatory clamping and centering members movable into engagement with the package body, means for releasing the cover from said cover holding members and moving the same down over the open end of the package to cover the same, means for actuating said body clamping members including a releasable connection for one of said members adapted to release said member from its drive in case the same is prevented from moving inwardly to a package clamping position. Y

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination'of means for separately feeding package bodies and their covers linto superposed relationship, plungers simultaneously movable to move a package and its superposed cover to a cover receiving position, means for centering a package in a cover receiving position including a movable backstop and mechanism under the control of said plungers for operating said backstop, means for centering the cover in a cover applying position comprising a pair of yieldingly movable clamping members engageable with the cover as the same is introduced therebetween and adapted to hold the cover in a central position over the package, and a reciprocatory plunger movable to engage the cover and move the same out of said clamping members and into covering engagement with the body of the package.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a pair of spaced conveyors, cover applying mechanism arranged between said conveyors, means for feeding covers to a superposed position over the bodies asV they are moved by one of said conveyors, means for feeding the superimposed bodies and covers to said cover applying mechanism for action thereon and for moving the covered package from said cover applying mechanism f to the other of said conveyors.

JULIUS E. STOLL. 

